The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol From Acetylene

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science
Volume 12 Annual Issue Article 31
1904
The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol from Acetylene

J. C. Frazee
Let us know how access to this document benefits you
Copyright ©1904 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias
Recommended Citation
Frazee, J. C. (1904) "The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol from Acetylene," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of
Science, 12(1), 179-192.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol12/iss1/31
This Research is brought to you for free and open access by the IAS Journals & Newsletters at UNI ScholarWorks. It
has been accepted for inclusion in Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science by an authorized editor of UNI
ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@uni.edu.
Offensive Materials Statement: Materials located in UNI ScholarWorks come from a broad range of sources and
time periods. Some of these materials may contain offensive stereotypes, ideas, visuals, or language.
Frazee: The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol from Acetylene
*'l'HE SYNTHESIS OF ETHYL ALCOHOL FROM

ACETYLENE.
BY J. C. FRAZEE.
Synopsis:
Introduction.
Ethyl Alcohol, its ordinary formation and physical
properties.
Acetylene and its properties. Its formation from
calcium carbide.
CaC2+H 2 0=,C 2H 2+CaO .... (1), or
CaC2 +2H20=C2H2+ Ca(OH)2 .... (2).
Syntheses.
1. C2H2+2H==C2H4 .... (3).
C2H4 + H2S04=C2H5 HS04 .... (5).
C2Hs HS04+ H20=C2HoOH+H2S04 .... (6).
2. C2H2+4H=C2H6 .... (4).
C 2 H6+ 2Cl=C2HsCl+HCl. ... (7).
C2 H s Cl+ KOH=C2 Hs OH+ KCl. ... (10).
3. C2H2+ H20=C2H:40 •••• (12).
C 2H40 + 2H=C2HsOH .... (13).
4. C2H 2+2HI=C2H4l2 .... (18).
C2H 4!2+ PbO=~C2H4 O+Pbl2 .... (20).
C2H 40 + 2H=C2H 50H ..•• (13).
Conclusion.
Ethyl alcohol, the alcohol most generally used in com-

merce, is prepared on a technical scale almost exclusively
•This paper was omitted from Volume XI on account of lack of space.
~179)
Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 1

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 12 [1904], No. 1, Art. 31
180 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
by what is termed the "spirituous fermentation" of sac-

charine juices. These juices occur in many plants and
fruits and belong, in chemical classification, to the carbohy-
drates, which may be arranged into the following classes:
1. Glucoses, or Monoses, having the formula C6 H120a.
Grape sugar and fruit sugar are the more important repre-
sentatives of this class.
2. Saccharobioses, with the formula C12H22011, whose
chief sugars are malt sugar, cane sugar, and milk sugar.
3. Polysaccharides, whose formula is (06 H1005 )x.
Starch and dextrine constitute the more important mem-
bers of this class.
The simple sugars of the formula, C6H1206 are capable of
direct alcoholic fermentation. This is especially true of
grape sugars and of fruit sugars, as well as of most sugars
among the iaccharobioses. Commercially, it is of the
greatest importance that the saccharobioses and polysac-
charides, which are not directly fermentable, may be con-
verted by water absorption into directly fermentabl8'
sugars and these then fermented.
Absolutely pure ethyl alcohol is a mobile, colorless
liquid with an agreeable odor. It boils at 78.3° and has a ,
specific gravity of 0.80625 at 0°. At --90°, it assumes the
appearance of a thick liquid, and at -130°, it solidifies to
a white mass. It burns with a non-luminous flame and
absorbs water energetically from the air.
The passing from an inorganic to an organic compound,
without the intervention of Nature, was considered an im-
possibility by chemists, until 1828, when Wohler synthe-
sized urea from isocyanate of ammonium. Since that time
many •organic compounds have been made ii;i the labora-
tory, some of which have not as yet been discovered in
nature. A very familiar illustration of this transition is
found in the production of acetylene from calcium carbide,
the equation of the reaction being:
CaC 2 + H20 = C2H 2 + CaD ...... (1), or
Ca0 2 + 2H 2 0 = C 2 H 2 + Ca(OHh ...... (2).
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol12/iss1/31 2
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 181
Since the improvements in the electric furnace have

rendered the manufacture of calcium carbide commercially
practicable, the attention of chemists has been directed
somewhat to the manufacture of the higher organic com-
pounds from acetylene. The synthesis of ethyl alcohol,
especially, has been the goal towards-which thtiy have striven.
This has been accomplished in a variety of ways, but none
of them has produced the final product so cheaply as the
old fermentation process, and a practical commercial
method has yet to be discovered.
Acetylene, whose formula is C2 H 2 , was first observed
by Edmund Davy. Berthelot introduced the name
"acetylene" and studied the gas carefully. It belongs to
the subdivision of the hydrocarbons having the general
name Acetylenes or Alkines and the formula Cn H 2n_ 2•
It is therefore an unsaturated compound. Pure acetylene
is a gas of ethereal odor. It may be liquified at + 1 °,
under a pressure of forty-eight atmospheres. It solidifies
when rapidly vaporized and then m13lts at -81 °. It is
very slightly soluble in water, but in alcohol and ether it
will dissolve to some extent. It burns with a smoky flame,
and with nine volumes of air, or two a_nd one-half volumes
of oxygen, forms an exceedingly explosive mixture.
The chief impurities in acetylene made from commercial
calcium carbide are hydrogen sulphide and hydrogen
phosphene. It may be freed from these in the following
ways:
1. By passing the gas through an acid solution of copper
sulphate and then through a solution of chromic acid.
2. By passing it through porous chloride of lime.
3. By washing it with a solution of bromine water.
The amount of acetylene evolved from calcium carbide
is not so great as one would expect, only five hundred feet
of the gas being liberated from one hundred pounds of
calcium carbide. It is partially due to this fact that no
process of making ethyl alcohol from acetylene has as yet
been successful.

182 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,
In thinking of possible methods in the synthesis in hand.

perhaps the one first suggesting itself would be as follows.
It is well known that platinum black has the peculiar
property of causing hydrogen to unite with other gases,
without being itself changed. Among the hydrocarbons,
those thus affected are, in general, only the unsaturated
ones.
C-H.
Acetylene may be structurally represented thus:-- 1.1
C-H.
It will be noticed that there are three bonds uniting the
two atoms of carbon. Until but one bond remains in this
position, the compound will be an unsaturated one. If
acetylene and hydrogen are passed together over platinum
black, one of the bonds, uniting the two carbon atoms, is
-C-H
i
broken, exposing two free bonds, thus: ~C-H. One
· atom of hydrogen now unites with each of the free bonds
H-C-H
II
forming H- C- H, or C2 H 4 • The equation of this re-
action is:
+
C2 H 2 2H . C2 H 4 •••• (3).
C2H4 is a gas called ethylene, or olefiant gas, olefiant
meaning "oil forming." It will be noted that this is also
an unsaturated compound. A part of it will, therefore,
~uffer further transposition, though all of the ethylene, in
the majority of cases, may not be so changed. The trans-
formation will be analagous to that of acetylene and the
H
I
H-C-H
I
product will be H-C-H, or C 2 H 6 , called ethane, the
I
H
eq nation of the reaction being:
C2 H4 +2H=C2Ho .... (4)
This is a saturated compound and belongs to what is

called the" limit hydrocarbons," because no more hydrogen
can be added to it without decomposing it.
It is possible that some of the acetylene and some of the
hydrogen may pass through unchanged. In this case, the
final product may contain ethane, ethylene, acetylene, and
hydrogen.
It has been discovered that concentrated sulphuric acid
will absorb ethylene very slowly at ordinary temperatures,
but c0mpletely at 174°. Ethane, acetylene and hydrogen
are, however, unaffected and will, therefore, separate them-
selves from the ethylene when they are co11ducted through
the heated acid. When ethylene is absorbed by the sul-
phuric acid, it unites with it chemically, forming what is
known as ethyl sulphuric acid 'rhe equation of the re-
action is:
C2H4+~ S04=C2~sso4 .... (5)
The solution is now cooled to the ordinary temperature
diluted with water and boiled. The reaction will give
ethyl alcohol and sulphuric acid, the alcohol being distilled
off and condensed. The equation of this reaction is:
C2HH 5 S04+H20~=C2HsOH+H2S04 .... (6).
If the sulphuric acid is not concentrated at the end of this

reaction, the water may be driven off by heat and the re-
concentrated acid used over again.
The alcohol thus made has some advantages in purity over
the product obtained by fermentation, which often contains
some wood alcohol and traces of higher alcohols some-
times grouped under the name of "fusel oil." In order to
eliminate t.hese as nearly as possible tbe alcohol is filtered
through charcoal, which, however, tends to create a new
impurity-i. e., acetaldehyde. On the other hand, if the
process is rightly conducted, the chance of anything
besides ethyl alcohol and sulphuric acid being evolved,
in equation (6), may be reduced to a minimum and an
alcohol of greater purity, therefore, may be obtained from
calci'um carbide than from grain.

184 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,
When the gases ethane, acetylene, and hydrogen separate

themselves from the sulphuric acid, as described above,
they should be conducted through an ammoniacal solution
of cuprous chloride, where all of the acetylene will be
absorbed, forming a red precipitate having the formula:
HC==CCu. Cl Cu. Ethane and hydrogen are not affected
by this solution and will therefore pass off in gaseous form
and be separated from the acetylene. The ethane and
hydrogen are now treated with chlorine gas in diffused
sunlight, the following reaction taking place:
C 2Ha+H+3Cl=C2H5Cl+2HCI. ... (7).
C 2 H 5Cl is called ethyl chloride. It is an ethereal liquid,
boiling at 12.5°, and having a specific gravity of 0.921 at 0°.
It has been found that if ethyl chloride is boiled with
water in a sealed tube, the chlorine will slowly leave the
ethyl chloride to form hydrochloric acid . with one of the
atoms of hydrogen in the water, the remaining atom of
hydrogen and the atom of oxygen replacing the chlorine in
the ethyl chloride. The equation of this reaction is:
C2H5Cl + H20=C~H50 H + HCl .... (8).
This, however, is a very tedious process. A reaction of
the same nature, but of more ease and quickness of accom-
plishment, may be obtained by substituting potassium or
sodium hydroxide in the place of the water. It will be
remembered that there is some hydrochloric acid mixed
with the ethyl chloride. This will, however, not interfere
with the desired reaction, but will simply require a greater
amount of the caustic alkali than if the ethyl chloride
alone were present. The first reaction will be between the
hydrochloric acid and the alkali, and will continue as long
as free hydrochloric acid remains. It will act according
to this equation:
HCl+KOH=KCl +: H 1 0 .... (9).
When entire neutralization has been effected, a second
reaction will take place, thus:
C2H5Cl+(KCl+H20)+KOH=C?H,,OH+2KCl + H 2 0 .. (10).
row A ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 185
We have now made alcohol from acetylene in two ways:

1. By converting it to ethylene; this to ethyl sulphuric
acid; and this to ethyl alcohol, and,
2. By converting the acetylene to ethane; then to ethyl
chloride; and then to alcohol.
Before taking up a third synthesis, it may be of interest
to consider briefly the red precipitate HC _cC Cu. Cl Uu.
obtn,ined from the action of acetylene on the ammoniacal
solution of cuprous chloride. It is an exceedingly unstable
compound. If it is heated to 100°, it will explode violently;
or, if it is dry, as slight a disturbance as touching it with a
feather will sometimes cause it to decompose with an ex-
plosion. If it is treated with hydrochloric acid, the
acetylene will be released in a chemically pure state. This
is one of the best methods of obtaining chemically pure
acetylene. The reaction is given in the following equation:
HC=c=C Cu. Cl Cu.+HCl~C 2 H 2 +2 CuCl. ... (11).
We shall now proceed to the consideration of a third
Rynthesis, which is perhaps more nearly practical than any
other yet devised. It is unique in that no reagents are
consumed, which is a very extraordinary occurrence in a
set of complicated reactions.
It is known that acetylene is practically insoluble in
water. If it were soluble, and if as it dissolved, it united
chemically with the water, the reaction would be accord-
ing to this equation.
C2H2 + H2 0= C2H4 0 ... ·. (12).
The C 2 H 4 0 being acetaldehyde, which, it will be noticed,
is a very near approach to ethy 1 alcohol, being different
from it only by containing two atoms less of hydrogen,
which, if they could be added to acetaldebyde would give
a reaction as represented in this equation:
C2H40+2H= C2H50H .... (13).
The equations, though so apparently simple, are
extremely difficult to effect properly, there being a tend-
ency toward the formation of by-products. The follow-

ing is as good a metbrid for the accomplishing of the

reactions as is known, and, when viewed from the com-
mercial standpoin.t, has some very practical features inas-
much as it consumes no reagents, as has been stated,
It has been found possible to effect the reaction represented
in equation (12) by what is technically known as a
"katalyctic" reaction. Katalysis is the name of a class of
chemical reactions which occur in the presence of some
other chemical, which is itself unaffected. It is supposed
that, if given sufficient time, the reaction would take place
without assistance, but for some unexplained reason, it is
greatly hastened by the presence of the k:atalyctic. Two
instances of these reactions have already been given-i. e.,
the union of hydrogen and acetylene or ethylene in the
presence of platinum black: and the action of chlorine gas
upon ethane in diffused sunlight.
The katalyctic best adapted to aid in the union of water
with acetylene is mercuric bromide. Mercuric chloride is
of the same nature as mercuric bromide in rendering the
reaction possible, but is unfitted for practical use, because
. of the fact tha.t a part of it undergoes a reaction with the
acAty lene and is precipitated as a. white, non-explosive pow-
der, having the formula C2 (HgOih.
The method of procedure in the use of mercuric bro-
mide is as follows: The salt is put into water in excess, it
being only moderately soluble, and the solution heated to
about 35 °. The acetylene is then conducted into the
solution, being liberated near the bottom of the vessel con-
taining it, thus giving more time for reaction before it can
reach the surface and escape. There should be some means
by which the liquid shall be kept in constant agitation to
prevent the insulation of the acetylene from the water by
the acetaldehyde that is formed. As acetaldehyde volatil-
izes at 20.8° it will leave the solution almost as rapidly as
it is formed, especially if as high a-temperature as 35° is
maintained. The acetaldehyde vapor is now carried
through a condenser, at about 0°, so arranged that should
there be any free acetylene, it may escape, while the con-
<lensed acetaldehyde is conducted into a receptacle whose

temperature should remain below 18°.
Acetaldehyde is a mobile, peculiar smAlling liquid. The
odor is very penetrating and resembles that of apples
slightly. It has a specific gravity of 0.8009 at 0°. It is
miscible in all proportions with water, ether, and alcohol.
It was given the name "aldehyde," meaning dehydrated
alcohol, by Liebig. It has the property of polymerization
to a marked degree. It is this property that presents one
of the greatest difficulties, which must be surmounted in
the synthesis we are considering. The following are some
of the ways in which polymerization may occur. Small
quantities of acids or salts, especially zinc chloride and
sodium acetate convert aldehyde at ordinary temperatures
into paraldehyde which has the formula (C 2 H 4 0) 3 , the
change, accomplished with th(;:) evolution of heat and con -
traction, is particularly rapid if a few drops of sulphuric
acid are present. Paraldehyde is a colorless liquid boiling
at 124°, and having a specific gravity of 0.9943 at 20°. It
has the very peculiar property of being more soluble in cold
water than in warm. It is used in medicine as a sleep-
producer. When distilled with' sulphuric acid ordinary
aldehyde is regenerated.
Metaldehyde is produced by the same reagents as those
producing foraldehyde, but the temperature is kept below
0°. It is a white, crystalline body insoluble in water, but
readily dissolved by hot alcohol and ether. If heated to
112°-115°, it sublimes, without previously melting, and
passes into ordinary aldehyde with only slight decomposi-
tion.
The water in the solution of mercuric bromide, previously
mentioned, will be carried off, after having united with the
acetylene, as· acetaldehyde. The mercuric bromide will re-
main unchanged. It is therefore necessary to add water
from time to time and the evolution of acetaldehyde will
continue as long as the acetylene is conducted into the
solution.

The next problem is to C<?nvert the aldehyde into ethyl

alcohol. Equation (13) represents the requisite reaction.
It is impossible to simply lead the hydrogen gas into the
acetaldehyde and make it unite chemically with it to form
alcohol. The hydrogen must be in the nascent state,-i. e.,
the condition in which it is after it is first evolved and
before it has formed into atoms. It is the ionic state.
When sodium or potassium are placed in water, they
liberate nascent hydrogen and form the caustic alkalis
thus:
K+ H 2 0=H+KOH .... (14).
The hydrogen, liberated in this way, however, is evolved
so rapidly as to be unfit for application in a chemical
reaction. The potassium is first united with metallic mer-
cury to form what is called potassium amalgam, and this
is used in pla.ce of the metallic potassium. Potassium
amalgam may be formed by simply bringing the potassium
into contact with the mercury. The reaction evolves a
grea,t deal of heat and the product is a solid resembling
zinc in appearance. When potassium amalgam is placed
in water, the reaction is very slow, the particles of hydro~
gen being so broken up as to give the solution a milky
appearance. 'l'he same reaction takes place as represented
in equation (14), and the mercury is left in the metallic
state at the bottom of the solution.
In order to apply the reaction to the acetaldehyde, the
aldehyde is diluted freely with water and the mixture then
treated with the potassium amalgam. The reaction is that
expressed in equation (13) and the product is ethyl alcohol.
'fwo reactions tending to form by-products, at this stage,
must be guarded against. The caustic alkali, which forms
during the reaction, has a marked tendency to polymerize
the acetaldehyde; and the potassium will, if proper pre-
cautions are not taken, decompose the alcohol formed,
liberate hydrogen from it, and unite with the alcohol radi-
cal to form potassium alcoholate. The most nearly
effective means of preventing these side reactions is to
have an excess of water, which will eliminate the forma-
tion of alcoholate and tend to decrease the polymerization

of the aldehyde by making the solution of c::LUstic alkali
more dilute and consequently less active. The solution
should also be kept at as high a temperature as it may be
without causing the aldehyde to vaporize, because the poly-
merization of the aldehyde is more likely to occur at low
temperatures. The greater the excess of water, the higher
may the temperature of the solution be raised without
liberating the aldehyde. When the action has been com-
pleted, the alcohol may be distilled off.
If the potassium amalgam were to be formed each time
from metallic potassium, the process just outlined would
be highly impractical, because of the cost of the potassium.
However, the entire a,mount of potassium amalgam con-
sumed in the above reaction may be very simply recovered
each time and used over and over again for an indefinite
length of time. The process is this: After the solution
containing the alcohol has had all the alcohol distilled
from it, it is boiled down till the solution of potassium
hydroxide is a supersaturated one, and will remain so dur-
ing the reaction which is to follow. The positive pole of
an electric circuit is now placed in the metallic mercury
and the negative pole is immersed in the solution of potas-
sium hydroxide. The current in passing through the solu-
tion will again unite the potassium with the mercury.
The amalgam will have no tendency to decompose as long
as the solution of potassium hydroxide remains concen-
trated. In this way the cost of metallic sodium or potas-
sium may be entirely ignored.
Another method of combining acetylene and water to
form aldehyde is to run acetylene gas into moderately
dilute sulphuric acid, which has had its temperature raised
to about 100°, cooling the solution to the ordinary tem-
perature and diluting with water. The solution is then
distilled when acetaldehyde will be given off in greater or
less amount. 'fhis is, however, a very unsatisfactory
method, because of the formation of by-preducts, the chief

of which is crotonaldehyde, having the formula U 4 H 6 0.

The equations of this side-reaction are:
2C 2 H 4 0=CH 3 CH OH CH 2 CHO .... (15).
This product is called aldol. It suffers further change,
the sulphuric acid extracting a molecule of water from it
and leaving crotonaldehyde, thus:
CH 3 CH OH CH 2 CHO=CH 3 CH CH OHO+ H 2 0 .... (16).
Some di-oxy-butane, or butylene alcohol, may also be

formed.
Acetaldehyde may also be converted into ethyl alcohol
by the action of glacial acetic acid on zinc which evolves
hydrogen according to the reaction shown in this equation:
Zn+ 2HC 2 H 3 0 2 =2H +Zn (C 2 H 3 0 2 ) 2 •••• (17).
The formation of zinc acetate is, however, detrimental
to the formation of alcohol, causing the acetaldehyde to
polymerize in the same way that it was affected by the
solution of potassium hydroxide.
Another method of synthesis, differing considerably from
those which have been described, may be called the
" halogen substitution process." Iodine is, perhaps, the
best member of the halogen group to use in this reaction,·
because of its stability, but bromine may be used in place
of it. Chlorine does not yield such satisfactory results,
and fluorine, because of the tendency of its acid to dis-
solve glass, is the least desirable of all.
'fhe halogen used is obtained in its acid form. In the
present discussion, hydriodic acid will be taken as the
representative. It has been found that, if acetylene is
conducted into hydriodic acid, the acid will unite with the
acetylene directly in the ratio of two parts of hydriodic
acid to one of the acetylene. The equation of the union
is:
C2H2+2HI=C2H4l2 .... (18).
This is a complete chemical reaction and not merely a
physical union. The acetylene has entirely lost its
identity, as may be proved by treating the product of the
reaction represented in equation (18) with nascent hydro-

gen, the reaction being according to this equation:
C2H4I2+ 4H=C2H6+ 2HI. ... (19).
Here we recognize ethane, which is a saturated com-
pound. As the hydrogen has substituted itself in place of
the iodine, instead of merely adding itself to the compound,
we have definite proof that the product formed by the
reaction expressed by equation (18) is also a saturated com-
pound, differing entirely from acetylene in it('! chemical
nature and composition.
C2H4I2 is called ethylene iodide. It is a solid melting
at 81°. It is now treated with lead monoxide at 130°
temperature when a chemical reaction is effected in which
the iodine and oxygen exchange places and acetaldelyde is
evolved. The reaction is represented by this equation:
C2H4l2+ Pb O=C2H40+ Pb I2 .... (20 ).
The acetaldehyde may now be converted to ethyl alcohol
by one of the methods previously described.
If the lead iodide, resulting from the reaction expressed
in equation (20), is submitted to an intense heat, the iodine
will be liberated and may be recovered and reconverted
into hydriodic acid. The lead will remain behind in the
form of lead monoxide and may be used over again, the
cost of iodine need not, therefore, be considered in these
reactions.
It has been found that acetylene in contact with a solu-
tion of caustic potash and air, changes in the presence of
diffused sunlight to acetic acid, which hac;; the formula
HC 2 H 3 0. The reaction is probably represented thus:
C 2H 2+0+H 20+(KOH)=(KOH)+HC2Ha02 .... (21).
There would be a reaction, however, between the potas-
sium hydroxide and acetic acid which would result m
potassium aectate and water, th us:
KOH+HC 2 H 3 0 2~~KC2H a02+H20 .... (22).

The acetic acid could be recovered by treating the potas-

sium acetate with some mineral acid thus:
KC 2 H302+HCl=KCl+HC2H302 .... (23).
It will be noticed that acetic acid i.s closely related to
alcohol. Jn fact, when fruit ferments and sours, there is
at first alcohol present and afterwards acetic acid.
It has been the object of this paper to point out the
facts known at the present time in regard to the repre-
sentative reactions by which calcium carbide, an inorganic
compound, may be converted into ethyl alcohol, one of the
most important of the organic compounds. None of the
methods outlined are of commercial value, as the cheapest
one can not produce alcohol at less than four times the
cost of the product derived from fermentation. Neither
iR it at all probable that a method of manufacture, which
will yield the product at a lower cost, will be worked out,
because of the fact that there is practically no expense for
reagents in some of the processes outlined.
Heat and electric power might be procured very cheaply
for a manufacturing plant, by locating it where advantage
might be taken of water power, such as is found at
Niagara, and yet we could not apply our equations, which
work out so nicely, and be attended with anything but
financial loss.

The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol From Acetylene

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol From Acetylene

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume 12 Annual Issue Article 31

The Synthesis of Ethyl Alcohol from Acetylene

Let us know how access to this document benefits you

Copyright ©1904 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

*'l'HE SYNTHESIS OF ETHYL ALCOHOL FROM

Ethyl alcohol, the alcohol most generally used in com-

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 1

by what is termed the "spirituous fermentation" of sac-

Since the improvements in the electric furnace have

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 3

In thinking of possible methods in the synthesis in hand.

This is a saturated compound and belongs to what is

If the sulphuric acid is not concentrated at the end of this

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 5

When the gases ethane, acetylene, and hydrogen separate

We have now made alcohol from acetylene in two ways:

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 7

ing is as good a metbrid for the accomplishing of the

<lensed acetaldehyde is conducted into a receptacle whose

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 9

The next problem is to C<?nvert the aldehyde into ethyl

tion of alcoholate and tend to decrease the polymerization

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 11

of which is crotonaldehyde, having the formula U 4 H 6 0.

Some di-oxy-butane, or butylene alcohol, may also be

reaction represented in equation (18) with nascent hydro-

Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 1904 13

The acetic acid could be recovered by treating the potas-

You might also like